1. Field of the Invention
The present invention refers to a device adapted to release, in working conditions, a hair cosmetic substance. The present invention also refers to an electrical apparatus for hair treating adapted to contain such a device and to an accessory, adapted to contain the device itself, adapted to be applied to an electrical apparatus for hair treating.
Examples of such apparatuses are hairdryers, straighteners, hairstylers or curlers, intensively used for hair treating, both in professional hair salons and within homes. Examples of hair treatments are drying and any styling operation, such as for example, setting, straightening or curling of hair.
In particular, the device of the invention may be used in a hairdryer or in an accessory adapted to be applied to a hairdryer.
2. Related Art
Various attempts have been made to incorporate supports in hairdryers that release hair treatment agents, under the action of hot air flow.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,597,191 describes a method for transferring a treatment agent onto hair through the passage of hot air through a support material containing such a treatment agent. The supports described in such a patent are made from paper or non-woven fabric, such as, for example, non-woven rayon. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,761,824 describes an accessory arranged in the outlet nozzle of a hairdryer comprising a fibrous sponge-like support material like cloth or cotton containing a hair treatment agent. International Patent Application WO No. 2005/087039 describes an accessory for hair treatment that rotates when exposed to the hot air flow of the hairdryer to which it is applied. Such an accessory is made from absorbent or semi-absorbent support material such as polyester, cotton, wood or other and contains a hair treatment agent.
However, the materials of the supports described in such patents have the disadvantage of not being able to absorb relevant amounts of substance and of breaking up over time, thus being unable to keep the substance inside them before the substance is transferred onto the hair. For example, paper is not stable over time in shape and structure and, if wetted, loses consistency. The weakening of the seal over time of such materials scan cause dripping of the hair substance contained inside them, the substance generally being in liquid state, causing waste of material, problems linked to electrical safety when such support materials are inserted into electrical apparatuses and problems linked to the cleaning of these apparatuses. Such materials described in the art are also difficult to model in solid form, unless glues are used that could reduce their absorption and that could be toxic, and therefore difficult to adapt or insert into housings present in electrical apparatuses for hair treatment. Finally, the organic materials of the supports described in the art, for example paper, cellulose, wood, wood pulp and cotton, are unable to release substantially all of the hair substance held here; indeed, heavy organic molecules, for example proteins, generally present in such a hair substance, amalgamate with such organic materials of the supports, making it difficult for the hair substance to be released in a limited period of time during a working step.
Other patents describe accessories for fragrances containing hairdryers.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,572,800 describes a porous material adapted to release a fragrance contained in an accessory applied to a hairdryer. U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,370 describes a hairdryer containing a diffusion system of a fragrance by means of a box containing a cream or gel. U.S. Pat. No. 5,987,771 describes a removable perfumed capsule placed in the nozzle of a hairdryer and arranged perpendicular to the air flow. US Patent Application No. 2003/0159306 discloses a bar made from a sponge-like or ceramic material adapted to absorb or to be filled with fragrances, such as a bar being placed in a diffuser arranged perpendicular to the air flow. Ceramic (alumina, Al2O3) has the disadvantage of being a very hard material, difficult to agglomerate, and powdery, with consequent problems of irritation of the skin, the eyes and the airways.
Such patents describe the diffusion of fragrances to perfume hair; in this context, it is sufficient to distribute a few milligrams of such a fragrance to obtain an acceptable perfuming of the hair and therefore it is not necessary to subject the material that contains such a fragrance to particularly high temperatures for long periods of time. Therefore, in such patents the problem regarding the need for resistance of the support material to high temperatures and the need to absorb and release a substantial amount of hair substance in a limited period of time is not analysed in detail.
The prior art does not provide a device that: 1) has a high absorption factor of hair substance; 2) when it is in rest conditions, it is adapted to hold over time the absorbed substance at its inside so as to avoid losses and waste of such a substance; 3) when it is in working conditions, it is adapted to release, through vaporisation, substantially all of the substance held therein in a limited period of time; and 4) is adapted to withstand high temperatures (for example, above 70° C.) without emitting harmful or toxic substances and without deteriorating.